The Freedom 251 will be officially unveiled in New Delhi on Wednesday evening at an event that will be presided over by Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, MP, with the Union Defence Minister Sri Manohar Parrikar as the Chief Guest.

Ringing Bells says the Freedom 251 smartphone has been developed 'with immense support' fromthe government and is touting it as a success story of PM Modi's flagship 'Make in India' scheme.

A smartphone priced at Rs. 251 will go a long way in connecting every Indian, and like the previous government tried to take computing to the masses with theAakash tablet, the Freedom 251 has the potential to realise the 'Digital India' vision.

Bookings for the Freedom 251 open on February 18 at 6am and close on 21 February at 8pm. The company says deliveries will be completed by 30th June 2016. The Freedom 251 will be available via its website.

Ringing Bells said their Freedom 251 phone would be priced under 500 rupees (£5; $7.3), but Indian media reports said it would cost just 251 rupees ($3.67; £2.56).

Reports say the phone has 8GB storage and cameras in the front and back.India is the world's second-largest mobile market and has one billion mobile phone subscribers.

Freedom 251 is expected to target a market already dominated by low-cost handsets.

"This is our flagship model and we think it will bring a revolution in the industry," the AFP news agency quoted a spokeswoman as saying.At present, the firm imports parts from overseas and assembles them in India, but plans to make its phones domestically within a year, she added.

Ringing Bells was set up a few months ago andrecently launched one of India's cheapest 4G smartphones at 2,999 rupees, the Press Trust of India reported.